“In our society, a woman can’t just do anything she wants.”
The rights of women continue to evolve around the world. (We should keep in mind that in the US, women’s right to vote has only existed for about a century, and the ability to get credit far less than that.) Cutting Through Rocks, from directors Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, watches as that evolution takes place within rural Iran. Cutting Through Rocks won the Grand Jury Prize for World Documentary at Sundance.
Sara Shahverdi is a motorcycle riding former midwife who has been elected to the local village council—the first women in the region to be elected. As the film opens, we see her working to repair a gate. We immediately learn that this is a woman who is resourceful and independent.
Sara was, in some ways, like a son to her father. After several girls, he was hoping for a son. He became close to Sara and allowed her to do things with him. (She later had three brothers, but the die was cast.) She wears masculine clothing. She is unafraid to stand up to men. She is an advocate for women’s education and against early marriage. Of course, this doesn’t always sit well with others.
When a teenage girl is seeking a divorce so she can study, Sara takes her into her own home (with her parents’ permission). Sara, as councilor, uses new gas lines as leverage for men to give their wives half ownership in their homes. She teaches girls to ride motorcycles—which attracts some violent reactions.
In time, Sara is brought to court to be examined to determine if she should be forced to undergo sex change surgery to be a man. The concept seems to be since she doesn’t fit the paradigm of female, we’ll change her body to fit the paradigm of male. The court ends up telling her. “Don’t help other women, too much. Mind your own business.”
The film was made over a period of eight years. When she was elected, Sara said she wanted to change the culture of the village. We see some changes take place, but there is still much that remains unchanged. For example, early on we see her visiting a class at a local girls’ school. They all say they want to continue in education rather than marry. Later, she and one of the girls go through pictures of the class and about three-quarters of them have married. By film’s end, Sara acknowledges, “I learned that change does not happen overnight. Sometimes a small step is enough.”
This is a film that raises issues of women’s right, gender identity, bodily autonomy. While we may think of the film being Iran-specific, all of these themes continue to be in flux all around the world. Sara’s commitment to change, while perhaps not as quickly as she or we might like, is a story that happens in many places. It is a quest for self-fulfillment and autonomy. Sara is not only seeking this for herself, but for the women (especially girls) of her community.
Cutting Through Rocks is in select theaters on November 21st, 2025..
Photos courtesy of Gandom Films
